I have something I can share for this thread. Last fall, I made a rare discovery in a local downtown building. From 1908 until it closed in 1978, Katzenmeyer's Hardware in Hillsdale was a local institution. Everyone around knew Karl, a colorful character with a cigar always clenched between his teeth! At any rate, a friend of mine is a realtor and had the listing for the building Katzenmeyer's previously occupied. When taking the listing photos he found a sign for the sporting goods department. Since I'm on the local historical society board he asked if we'd be interested in it, which of course we were. I met him at the building one Sunday to grab the sign. He asked me if I wanted to look around, so we went to all 3 levels. Up in the second floor there is a loft, and I couldn't help but notice many boxes remaining there. I monkeyed my way up the vertical peg ladder and opened a couple of the boxes, which contained old papers. Long story short, the boxes contained correspondence and paperwork spanning over 70 years. Much of the early paperwork was stored in Peters Cartridge (ammo) boxes, which the wooden tops were sealed with screws. I was the first person to open many of these wood boxes in 100 years! It was nuts! I brought home several van loads of this paperwork, a literal treasure trove of local history, and a look into the life and dealings of the hardware store.
SO to get to the point, in the 1920 correspondence box I found some early gas and oil related papers. One was a letter from Sun Company Detroit branch, dated December 27th, 1920. I think the watermark is neat! Also included with it was a brochure on Sunoco Spirits. When I opened this little booklet, the spine made a little noise, being I was the first to look at it in 100 years which was a pretty cool thought. This might help Steve with some specifics of the company's timeline.
Darin
